Kareena Kapoor Khan’s Holistic Health Mantra For Her Post-Baby Body

The gorgeous new mom has amazed everyone with her rapid weight loss after her pregnancy. She credits her post-baby body to traditional food wisdom. Check out tips on getting a post-baby body like Kareena Kapoor Khan.

Any Bollywood fan will admit, their Instagram feed is either plastered with images of Kareena Kapoor Khan looking svelte as ever or her baby son Taimur Ali Khan Pataudi stealing hearts with his peaches and cream chubby cheeks.

Khan has redefined the meaning of being pregnant and raising a child in Bollywood. At a time when the film industry in India was used to actresses escaping the public eye during and after their pregnancy, she has carried herself with confidence and complete joy.

She continued to walk red carpets and runway shows and attend Bollywood bashes right until the last few weeks of her pregnancy. She even graced the Koffee with Karan couch, glowing and fully pregnant. And within a month and a half after her son Taimur was born in December 2016, Khan walked the grand finale of Lakmé Fashion Week as the show-stopper.

She publicly embraced her baby bump, she carried her weight gain and all the changes associated with a growing child inside you with aplomb. And in doing so, scores of women across her fan base in India and abroad took notice. Being pregnant is not a handicap. Being pregnant does not mean you stop looking after yourself or taking out a few precious minutes to exercise.

There was nothing stopping Bebo then. And there is nothing stopping her now as she jet-sets between Mumbai and Delhi to shoot her next film, Veere di Wedding or when she is clicked by the paparazzi sweating it out at the gym every morning. Her fans have witnessed every phase of her pregnancy journey. And Khan has been more than candid about sharing it with her fans.

Many think Khan has tried to set a precedent by being so public and open about this new phase in her life, unlike most actresses. But she was quoted as having said, “I am not making a point. I am doing what I want.” And she probably was just being herself and not making a deliberate statement. After all, don’t you remember one of her most popular dialogues from her hit Hindi film Jab We Met where she says, “Main meri favorite hoon” (translated: I am my favourite!).

Her incredible weight-loss journey has flitted across the screens of our smartphones over the last 10 months. And her slimmer, toned look is for all to see. Khan’s go-to person for everything to do with holistic health is India’s leading nutrition and exercise science expert Rujuta Diwekar. The two have worked together for 10 years and their association started with Khan’s size-zero look in the film Tashan. Through many Facebook-live sessions, Instagram feeds and press conferences, the two shared the basic mantras that guide Khan’s fitness journey whatever she may be doing.

Eat Local and Native

In a crowd of gluten-free Bollywood, Khan swears by her ghar ka khana and roti. Unlike her glamorous persona, Khan is strongly rooted to the local and seasonal foods of India and relies on the home-grown wisdom of Indian kitchens. Be it lauki (bottle gourd), bajra roti (pearl millet flatbread), khichdi (lentil rice), dahi (curd) or daal (lentils) with rice, Khan’s food choices are simple and have been staple items in South Asian kitchens for generations.

Khan loves to pick on makhana (puffed gorgon nut) or chaklee (crisp rice snacks) or till ladoos (sesame sweets) to satisfy her mid-meal food cravings. Khan says her humble food preferences allow her to eat what she likes and not count calories.

They keep her hormones and her insulin in check because she never starves herself. Most importantly, home-cooked meals are devoid of any processed ingredients. And that helps keep her gut clean, which shows on her glowing skin and beautiful hair.

Rujuta Diwekar has been a long-time proponent of Indian superfoods like ghee (clarified butter). And Khan can’t get enough of her ghee. She eats it on her roti or paranthas and loves a ghee-tadka (tempering) on her daal. For years, industry lobbies demonized fats and promoted processed grains over them. It is now that the world has started waking up to the benefits of having healthy fats in your diet.

And ghee is a beautiful example of a fat that keeps your blood sugar in check by reducing the glycemic index of food. Fats keep you fuller for longer and you, therefore, don’t overeat when you consume ghee in your meals. Khan credits ghee as being a constant in her diet.

Maintain Fitness Before Pregnancy

Khan believes a happy mother is the best mother. She reveals that because she maintained her fitness levels for a good 10 years, her pregnancy was largely smooth sailing. Khan ate clean and exercised regularly for years and she was therefore in the best condition to have a child at 36.

Within 40 days after the birth of Taimur, Khan resumed her fitness regimen again. She claims it elevates her mood and promotes a feeling of well-being. And a positive and energetic mother will raise a happier baby.

Early Dinner, Early To Bed

Khan starts her day with fruit instead of tea or coffee as advised by Diwekar. Having a fruit first thing in the morning fires up your metabolism and your body gets into action mode immediately. And through the day, your body will continue working hard to process whatever you consume.

Khan eats every two hours and has her last meal by 7 pm. She ensures she is not eating anything heavy late in the night that the body can’t break down. By 10:30 pm, it’s lights-out for Bebo and a good eight to nine hours of sleep is mandatory for her to have the energy to take on a full day of film and baby duties.